03/05/2025
Well Interpretation ๐ by PhD candidate aka Koang Kay Keak Lueth ๐
๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฌ. ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ง: ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐
๐บ๐๐๐๐-๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
by Koang Kay Keak
A day before, Dinka armed youth disarmed 13 SSPDF soldiers in Tonj-Warrap, and no aerial action was taken by SSDPDF. The same action in Nuerland is responded to differently. Yesterday, SSPDF threatened โaerial actionโ over boats hijacking in Pangak-Jonglei. Today morning, they bombed Old Pangak, burning in ashes the MSF hospital, and killing civilians. The Dinka elites may defend their action by stating โWell, 13 SSPDF in Dinka-land were just disarmed, not killedโ. Yet, the reality shows the opposite otherwise. Longechuk, and Ulang counties of Nuerl communities were aerial bombed when they did nothing against the so-called government or SSDPF.
The Nuer politicians in Juba are defending the same government that has been on a mission to kill their Nuer civilians. Where do Nuer politicians in Juba bring their politics from? If it's from school, congratulations, they have graduated from idiotic studies. Because in this article, I am using scientific evidence to show that nationalism politics our Nuer leaders in Juba exercise is โthe politics of the bellyโ.
When the Nuer civilians were aerial bombed by the government of Dinka elites using Ugandan-hired gunships, Nuer leaders, public figures, and educated folks who defend their tribe against state violence are often labeled as "tribalists," while those Nuer elites who side with the government claim the covering of "nationalists."
However, according to the research conducted by De Vries & Justin in 2019, they wrote that โSince 2013, the conflict has taken on a distinctly ethnic dimension, with the Dinka-dominated government targeting the Nuer people in systematic massacres (de Vries & Justin, 2019)โ.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐ฏ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ข ๐๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐จ
The South Sudan government, which is dominated by Dinka Elites, has armed โnationalismโ to strengthen power. According to Johnson (2016), the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) faction under President Salva Kir has essentially designed its authority for national unity, while simultaneously using Dinka militias to meet ethnic killings. It aligns with the criticism of the sub-colonial African states of the Mamdani (2001), where the ruling elites have manipulated ethnic identity to maintain power while suppressing dissatisfaction under the guise of nationalism. The 2013 Juba Genocide, where Nuer Citizens were hunted by door-to-door (Human Rights Watch, 2014),is an example of how the state acts as an ethnic elite. The use of the government of Uganda's gunship in 2025 to deploy chemical weapons in Nuer counties of Nasir, Ulang, and Longechuk, now with Fangak further shows further its "nationalist" intentions for the massacre (D Wall, 2015). In such a context, the Nuer leaders who support the government are used to carry out the massacre of their own people, while those Nuer leaders, public figures who oppose are termed โtribalistโ.
๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ข ๐๐จ ๐ ๐พ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง-๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ.
Critics often dismiss tribalism as a regressive force, but in South Sudan, tribal solidarity serves as a living mechanism against state violence. As Hachinson (2001) has noted, Nuer has historically held kinship lines to oppose external domination - under British colonialism, then under the rule of Khartum, and now under Dinka elites. When the state becomes an agent of ethnic destruction, tribal harmony is a rational response (Waal, 2018). The Nuer leaders who prioritize the security of their community are not rejecting nationalism, but are opposing a state that has failed to protect them. This aligns the concept of "daily resistance" with the concept of Scott (2009), where groups of margins use informal networks to combat oppression. In contrast, the Nuer leaders who are in favor with the government despite their atrocities, is called "collaborative nationalism" in Fanon (1961), where elite co-optation undermines genuine liberation.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ "๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ" ๐๐ช๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐จ
Nuer Elites that alliance with a regime that has destroyed its own people should be investigated for political opportunism. Their claims for nationalism are not in any perspective of inclusive citizenship, but in personal benefits and elite protection. As noted by Bayart (1993), African political elites often use the language of nationalism while engaging in โthe politics of the belly,โ where state power is a means to extract resources and maintain patronage. In addition, Anderson (1983) The theory of nationalism is relevant as a "fictional community": the "nation" of South Sudan remains an aristocratic project that excludes minorities. Nuer leaders who reject this exclusion nationalism are not tribals, but are realistic who believe that the present state is a vehicle for Dinka Domination (Leonardi, 2013).
๐ช๐ค๐๐๐๐ช๐๐๐๐ฃ
Dualism between nationalism and tribalism in South Sudan is false. The manipulation of the Dinka Elite of Nationalism has resulted in ethnic cleansing, which is an essential form of tribal solidarity resistance. The Nuer leaders who are in favor of their people are promoting partitions but challenging a genocide regime. Meanwhile, the so-called "nationalist" leaders enable state violence by legalizing a repressive system. True nationalism should be inclusive, not a cover for ethnic domination. Tribal resistance remains a legitimate and morally defensive stance until the South Sudan government represents all tribes equally. I still stand that Nuer and Dinka are not enemies of each other but are agitated by leading elites for a political gain. Iโm optimistic that South Sudan will one day get peace and become a democratic nation, and South Sudanese will elect their own leaders from local to national level. It will be a time when the representatives will defend their constituents who elect them so that true nationalism is evident. All the traitors will not have a place in South Sudan politics as no one will elect them.
๐๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐๐บ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ด ๐โ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฏ๐๐ช๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐ข๐ก ๐ด๐ฅ๐๐ช๐ ๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ท๐๐ณ๐ ๐ช๐ก๐บ. ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐น๐๐ณ๐๐ด๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฆ๐๐บ ๐ข๐ข๐ตโ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ด๐'๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐๐ด๐๐ฏ๐ก ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ณ ๐ฐ๐๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐ป๐๐ต๐๐ฐ๐. ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ณ๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐@๐๐ฎ๐๐ช๐.๐๐ฐ๐
